What Liverpool need to do to beat charges-ridden Man City - "Make it chaotic"

As Liverpool prepare to face a charges-ridden Manchester City in Sunday's Premier League main event, Sports Mole site coordinator Ben Knapton tells Andoni Iraola's side what they need to do to end the Sky Blues' perfect start to the season.

The Anfield crowd for this one is going to be the most raucous, the most fiery that we've ever seen. Especially coming off the back of the longest international break we've ever seen in the Premier League, with fans crying out for domestic football to return.

It's now returning with this fixture that already carries so much history and prestige, and now with everything that has happened, Liverpool really have to feed off the energy that this crowd are going to give them.

Make it chaotic for City. Don't give them a second to settle, don't give them a second on the ball. Press really high, go direct, take risks. Don't obsess so much over controlling the game.

Chaos over control, and going direct, is what we saw work at Bournemouth when Liverpool got that 1-0 win. It was a game devoid of attacking quality for a lot of the 90 minutes, but the goal was one of the few times that Gakpo thought he'd go direct and try to beat his man.

He did that, gets the ball in, there's a bit of luck with the Wirtz flick, and then Isak gets the finish. We are slowly seeing some of Iraola's philosophy become instilled into these players.

Liverpool, of all the passes they played in the league this season, 16% have been progressive, the highest share of any team in the division.

In this City game, they just have to be really forward-thinking and play direct. But personnel-wise, there will be quite a few concerns. We saw Isak withdraw from the Sweden squad during the international break. Liverpool are also without Hugo Ekitike long term due to his Achilles injury.

What will Liverpool's attack look like against Man City?

© Iconsport / MB Media

What are they going to do up front? Their only other pure centre-forward option is the 21-year-old Lewis Koumas. But I'd be very surprised if he's trusted to lead the line in this game.

I can see Bradley Barcola starting as that false nine, with Rio Ngumoha and Victor Munoz on the wings, and then Wirtz in the number 10 position.

The midfield debate is still massive. The fans really want to see more of Trey Nyoni and less of Ryan Gravenberch, who has been really off it so far this season. But I'd be shocked if Nyoni is given the nod from the start in this game.

There are a lot of concerns, but for me Liverpool have a real chance, because City players did make a few mistakes over the international break; it was Guehi and O'Reilly in that England match against Spain.

The home fans are not going to let them hear the end of it. Not just Liverpool fans, but wherever City go for the remainder of the season, the fans are not going to let them hear the end of it.

What we see from City in this game, in one of the biggest cauldrons and the biggest away test you can face, could be a good sign as to what we're going to see from them heading forward when they continue facing these hostile atmospheres.

Given everything that has happened, this has got the hallmarks of a classic Liverpool versus Man City. I would always back a 2-2 draw in this one, and I can honestly see the same happening here.